President Obama signed into law the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which makes it easier for people subjected to pay discrimination to challenge the practice in court. The law reverses a 2007 U.S. Supreme Court decision that required victims of pay discrimination to file a claim within 180 days of the original incident to be compensated. Instead, it establishes that each paycheck is a new act of discrimination that resets the 180-day filing limit. The National Women’s Law Center, a Foundation grantee, was one of two organizations that initiated an amicus brief to the Supreme Court on behalf of Ledbetter, a former supervisor for Goodyear Rubber and Tire Co. who was paid significantly less than her male co-workers. The center also provided multiple testimonies to Congress, produced analyses of broader issues around fair pay and workplace fairness, and was instrumental in building the coalition that ultimately contributed to the passage of the legislation.
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